Waterproof garments such as jackets and coats are generally produced with a shell material made of rubber or waterproof plastics. Since the rubber or plastic shell was impermeable to moisture produced by perspiration from the wearer's body, the wear comfort was not satisfactory. For some years there have been waterproof garments incorporating a waterproof yet water permeable functional layer between the textile face fabric and the textile lining fabric which are both made of material permeable to water. This functional layer may e.g. consist of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) which has been made microporous by a special expansion process.
The problem of waterproof garments are the seams, where the waterproof layer is perforated and the sewing threads conduct water which falls onto the face fabric through the waterproof layer up the inner lining by means of a capillary or wicking effect. Since normal lining fabrics consist of materials capable of absorbing large quantities of water, the lining will be perceivably moist only a short time after exposure of the garment to rain. One solution is to sew through the face fabric but avoid sewing through the functional layer. However, this will not always be possible. In case it is unavoidable to stitch through the functional layer, a tape made of waterproof plastic material is used to seal the inner side of the functional layer. Such a seam-sealing tape, however, cannot be applied to the textiles commonly used for face fabrics and lining fabrics.
Closures by means of which the garment can be opened and closed, such as zippers are a problem for waterproof garments. On the one hand, water can penetrate between the individual teeth of the zipper, on the other hand the textile material at both sides of the zipper which serves to sew the zipper to the fabric of the garment, is not waterproof. For this reason, more and more waterproof garments are provided with flaps which cover the zipper or closure when the garment is closed. Such flaps are usually made of the same textile material as the face fabric of the main part of the garment to impart a good look to the garment. In order to prevent water which has reached the free end of the flap and the part of the face fabric below from penetrating the closure, an intermediate flap can be provided which is located between the closure and the flap when the garment is closed.
A well known example for such a construction is an anorak-type jacket as shown schematically and sectionally in FIG. 1. The garment comprises two main parts 11a and 11b which are linked by means of a closure in the form of a zipper 15 so that the garment can be opened and closed. In the embodiment shown in the drawing, both main garment parts 11a and 11b are of three-layer construction. The outer side is formed by a textile face fabric 16a, 16b. The inner side is a lining 17a, 17b. Between the face fabric 16a, 16b and the lining 17a, 17b there is a waterproof functional layer 19a, 19b e.g. made of expanded microporous PTFE which allows water vapor to penetrate. At their free ends the main garment parts 11a and 11b are attached to textile support strips 21a and 21b of zipper 15 by means of zipper seams 25a and 25b. An outer flap 29 is sewn to the main garment part 11a by means of a flap seam 31. The outer flap 29 comprises an outer face fabric 33a and an inner face fabric 33b. Between these there is arranged a waterproof, water-vapor permeable functional layer 37. The inner face fabric 33b is formed by turning the outer face fabric 33a around the free end of the functional layer 37 and sewing the folded face fabric by means of the outer flap seam 31. Furthermore, the outer face fabric 33a, the inner face fabric 33b and the intermediate functional layer 37 are sewn together by means of an outer flap end seam 39.
An intermediate flap 41 is sewn to the main garment part 11b by means of an intermediate flap seam 43. Like the outer flap 29 the intermediate flap 41 is also of three-layer construction, with an outer face fabric 45a, an inner face fabric 45b and an intermediate functional layer 49. In order to prevent water from reaching the zipper, the intermediate flap 41 is folded once over its entire width at the side adjacent to the outer flap seam 31 so that it covers the zipper 15 in two layers. There is some space left between the free ends of the intermediate flap 41 and the outer flap 29 so that a closing mechanism in the form of waterproof snap fasteners 59 can be provided.
At first sight it looks as if the ingress of water from outside into the garment via the zipper area can be prevented by the outer flap and the folded over intermediate flap 41. Experience has, however, shown that water bridges remain which allow the water to penetrate through to the lining 17a, 17b so that the inner side of the garment becomes moist in rain. The object of the invention is to improve a waterproof garment of the described type in such a way that water can no longer reach the inner side of the garment. The first step towards the present invention was to find out how such water bridges are created. Textile materials which are used as face fabrics for garments of the mentioned type are not only permeable to water through the material but also allow water to creep along the material in a longitudinal direction. When water contacts the surface of the main garment part 11a, it can creep along the surface of face fabric 16a below the outer flap 29 up to the zipper seam 25a.
Here it creeps through the seam stitches and the threads of the zipper seam 25a through the functional layer 19a down to the lining 17a. In the lining 17a which normally consists of a textile material which is even more absorbent than conventional face fabrics, the water can spread. Some time after the garment has become wet from outside there are moist areas at the inside of the lining.
The same water conducting mechanism occurs at the other side of the zipper 15. Water which has contacted the face fabric 16b of the main garment part 11b can penetrate under the intermediate flap 41 towards the zipper seam 25b due to the wicking effect of the face fabric and reach the lining 17 of the main garment part 11b through the seam stitches and threads of this seam.